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Durban.
A South African Indian teacher here is under threat of suspension for allegedly making blasphemous statements about Hinduism and Christianity while teaching high-school students. Incensed parents of pupils at the Seatides Combined School, North of here, are seeking the suspension of Noorjehan Ahmed, 49, an educator for 27 years, after she allegedly made blasphemous statements about Hinduism and Christianity that upset her pupils
Ahmed, a Muslim, is alleged to have asked during a guidance lesson on inter-racial marriages how Jesus could be the son of a God? She reportedly asked : "Did he (God) sleep with Mary?" She is also alleged to have denigrated the Hindu religion by saying Hindus worshipped pictures and idols. Offended pupils said she suggested that as Elvis Presley was so talented, they should put up a picture of him, garland it, and pray to it.
After a number of pupils wrote letters to the school principal, the governing body called an emergency meeting , after which it issued a statement dissociating itself with the comments by the teacher and calling for a full investigation. Both the provincial education authority and the South African Council of Education have launched their own investigations.
But Ahmed said disgruntled students had taken her comments out of context. She told the weekly Sunday Times Extra here that her reference to Christianity and Hinduism were by way of example and explanation in the lesson. "For example, I said you cannot compare your husband to god. I said then why not take Elvis Presley and pray to him ? For me, blasphemy is a sin. I have read the Vedas, the Ramayana, the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible," said Ahmed.
She added that as a Muslim she also
regarded Mary as a very saintly woman, as recorded in the Koran, and regarded
Jesus as one of the holiest prophets of God. ":I went there to teach
a lesson. I feel disappointed. If this is what you get for trying to enhance
their knowledge, then I think they don't deserve me," she said.
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